...Its dewy libation, is sweeter than myrrh,
And an incense to Toil is the smell of the loam
On the last load home."
Some cottage garden pictures
I struggle to believe we're almost in September. Personally, I don't think I've ever known a year go by so quickly. People offer reasons and they mostly make good sense - but, whatever the reason, the months are whizzing by and leaving me not just a little amazed! The snows of January gave way to the winds and rain of February, keen frosts in March brought on the harsh showers and rainbows of April and then, into May - one of my two favourite months - when I heard the cuckoo and watched the swallows scoring the sky like sparklers on Bonfire Night. June came in with a cold wind from the north - and here, in West Caithness, there's not much land before the North Pole! July surprised me with the cornucopia of insects. They're still here - still feeding the bats and swallows in the air as well as many other birds on the ground and in the trees and hedges.
This month Ginny has built a beehive. She's made the decision - after a lifetime of loving bees - to be(e) a beekeeper! She won't have the bees until next March or April so she has plenty of time to get things ready and into place. Our friend gave us a lovely old book about bee-keeping, "Lippincott's Farm Manuals, Productive Bee-Keeping" by Frank C. Pellett, so she has to accept some of the blame!!!! I have to say, Ginny didn't need too much persuasion - and Clem gave her the entire kit from "National Bee Supplies" - including the nuclear protection suit! She's going to look fab in that!
This morning's walk was another illustration of how fortunate we are with our insects here at Stempster. A perfect bee was struggling on the tarmac just as we set off down the little road. I encouraged it onto a leaf and placed it at the side amongst the vegetation. It seemed to perk up and wasn't there when we came home. I always hope for the best!
Jess is such a killer that we have to make sure little things are safe from her. Bees, butterflies and birds all need special consideration when Jess is about. She's the sweetest of doggies so I like to think she only kills accidentally. I get the sense she's like the friendly bear who is inclined to love a little too much, hugging a little too close!! Everyone tells me I'm wrong - they say she really is a killer cocker.
Orlando, whilst remaining an excellent watch dog and threatening any stranger who comes within ten metres of any one of us, is no longer inclined to chase smaller creatures. It's almost as if he thinks he'll preserve his energy for the more serious issues he may be called upon to deal with!
My grandchildren visited a new litter of Sprockers yesterday and made the mistake of sharing photos and a video - now the question of whether or not Orlando and Jess would like a baby sibling has reared its head - not for me thank you - two dirty spaniels are sufficient! As soon as the house is cleaned, it starts to get messy again - dog toys, tiny bits of vegetation they've taken from their coats while grooming themselves, shredded tissues they steal from pockets and socks - oh so many socks - stolen and secreted away to come out when they fancy a treat:
"Drop the sock!"
No response.
"Drop for a TREAT!"
It's a two person job. One fetches the treat as the other picks up the sock.
Then there's the spilled kibble. On a good day it stays in the back hall only to be knocked along by shoes as people walk by. On a bad day it is knocked through to the front hall where it's trampled into the carpet.
Oh the joys of belonging to spaniels!!!
August evenings have generally been lovely - with all the usual suspects - owls calling, bats flitting, the blue moon teasing me as it moved behind the trees and the powerful scent of all flowering things. Some evenings were wet and sometimes we had rain overnight but then, in the morning, the sun would dry up stone things quickly and the growing things which remained damp looked very happy to have felt the rain.
Looking back to the summer storms of my Lincolnshire childhood, I now understand the despair on driving past field upon field of flattened cereals. Back then there was little that could be done to salvage the crop. Things have changed a great deal in agriculture, not just the machinery, but also the strain of the crops sown by farmers.
Going back even further than my own childhood, my grandfathers were seventeen and ten respectively when this was published in the local newspaper, "The Epworth Bells" -
Saturday, August 4th, 1917
THE COMING HARVEST
FINE PROSPECTS FOR LINCOLNSHIRE AND NOTTS
A special correspondent of the "Yorkshire Post" writes:
"A Tour through Lincolnshire and Notts. at the present time is sufficient to prove that we are on the eve of a bounteous harvest. It is true there will be less straw than twelve months ago, but considerably more corn, which is what counts, to nullify the German submarine warfare. Considering the great scarcity of labour, it is remarkable how free from thistles and rubbish is the major portion of the crops now that harvest day has arrived. Only here and there can the thistles be seen in any great quantity towering above the corn. For this happy state of affairs one must pay tribute to the female labour."
A fortnight later:
Saturday, August 18th, 1917
THE HARVEST
"A start has been made on the corn harvest, but the weather this week has been so unfavourable that little progress could be made. rain has fallen, more or less, every day since Sunday and on Wednesday there was a very heavy thunderstorm, and large hailstones fell. In some places the crops are badly laid."
Most of us these days are unaware of the tense wait for good harvesting weather in the farming community. My 2024 diary for this month includes entries like "Dark, windy, wet underfoot this morning" and "Cool, damp morning but still lovely."
This wintertime I won't be without beautiful flowers. These came from Amy who dries and sells gorgeous flowers from her home in the Isle of Axholme.
Some wet or damp mornings are priceless for the way white flowers in the border strike away from the rest. The sight is electric!
But I just sow seeds and put plants into the garden and in pots - all for pleasure. Clemency grows fruit, vegetables and salads but, delicious as they are, it doesn't matter if they fail - we can go to the Wee Shop in our village or to the supermarket in our town. Farmers, on the other hand, have far more invested in their annual yield. Three fields across the valley have already been ploughed. We stand on our hill and look across at the patchwork - aware of the sweat and hope which goes into the cultivation and husbandry.
Harvest time? Joy, yes. Thankfulness, yes. Stress - most definitely.
The Barometer Plant, this Sedum tells me when Summer is coming to an end - as soon as it turns deep pink
Last week I saw a young blackbird so pressed against the grass that I thought it was dead. I went up to it and saw, first its eye move, then its head and finally it tried to move away from me. I stood very still and waited. I supposed it had flown into the conservatory and was stunned. I noticed its legs out in front of it. It struggled to raise itself on them. Ginny and I had a closer look and thought it may have damaged a wing. I'm always reluctant to move birds as I know they can often deal with such situations far better than we can. So many times over the years I have found that waiting and caring is the best way to support little things when they seem out of place. We kept the dogs out of that part of the garden all through the day. I fed it rowan berries on the ground and we tried to help it fly a few times. When night fell we noted that it was tucked away under the ivy by the wall and wished for the best outcome. The next morning it had gone. No need to think of what might have happened to it. Nature can appear cruel - but it is natural!!
So that was that? No! As we were eating lunch the next day the young blackbird came to say Hi! It was the same one for sure - and it seemed to have a single purpose - to let us know that it could move around now - a bit wobbly but just fine!!
On the construction front, Clemency has built an archway to mark the right side of the front garden. She has roses growing there to climb up both sides and meet at the top. She has the wood to make an archway for the left side of the garden too so there will be one at each end of the small stone path she built a couple of years ago.
The first of the two archways in the front garden
We had an archway at Aston House in Epworth. Either side of it was low beech hedging and the deepest of pink, almost red, roses grew up and over it. There was an archway at Branscombe Lodge too. These were wooden constructions. At Hope Cottage in Barrow on Humber we had a brick archway separating the back yard from the garden. I'm very fond of archways - going through them can feel like leaving the wardrobe behind and stepping into Narnia!
In June we had "30 Days Wild" and, in August, I'm potting on the herb selection which was sent with the poster and butterfly spotter. I sowed the seeds together in a large pot because time was at a premium and now I've moved them on with high expectations for culinary use. "30 Days Wild" is run by the Scottish Wildlife Trust which does so much work to make our countryside a part of everyone's lives here in Scotland. We fill in our poster as a household of adults - no need to be children - the natural world has wonder for all ages.
“Being outdoors and enjoying nature is fantastic. Not only to see what’s going on around us,
but also for our physical and mental health.”
Dr Amir Khan, Health Ambassador
The Wildlife Trusts
At the beginning of August, as I moved my June birthday present from the garage to the little cottage garden at the side of the house, I spotted a beautiful grasshopper on the wall. Knowing my photography skills are limited I called in help! Ginny, Judith and Clemency all took excellent photos - and Clemency was well pleased because she felt sure she had heard a grasshopper a couple of days before! The present, incidentally, was eight X sixty litre bags of compost. Keith asks what I want for my birthday and I ain't afraid to tell him!!
Judith's photo: the grasshopper clinging to the garage wall
The grasshopper wasn't the only insect I needed help with. We have had multiple sightings of Speckled Wood butterflies. Though difficult to make a positive identification at first, as soon as we felt certain, we were off!!! No stopping us! They were all over the front garden through August and seemed to become used to us. I know this isn't likely but it's quite a nice thought. Brown butterflies weren't always welcome - they were once believed to connect people with the underworld thereby bringing bad luck should they fly into someone's home!
Clemency's photo: The speckled wood clinging to the sundial plinth!
Thankfully we've moved on from those notions now and wild creatures are generally seen as individuals deserving of our respect. Except by hunters of course and my own feeling is that those who would hunt down and cruelly treat any living creature are not worthy of respect. One hopes to see implements of torture, as well as poisons, banned completely in the very near future.
This month's full moon was quite special - a blue moon no less! The moon's orbit has been closest to earth at the same time as being full - this is what makes it a supermoon. It seems to be bigger and brighter because of its position. As with the brown butterflies, there is folklore attached to the blue moon. Those who dabble in spirit communication have a belief that the blue moon may boost their powers to make connections. For me the blue moon on the nineteenth of this month filled me with a sense of peace for a while - before wondering about all of those who live under the moon in other parts of the world and cannot believe that peace will ever be theirs to keep. The moon, however, belongs to everyone.
I saw this by accident and it made me smile. Thought it would end the account of August 2024 very nicely. Hope you see the humour and the wisdom equally.
“Don’t worry if you’re making waves just by being yourself. The moon does it all the time.”
Scott Stabile
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